CLASSIC SAUCES

Nothing goes together better than sauce and pasta—it’s a perfect marriage. Whether you’re serving a pasta course, a pasta side dish for a simpler meal, or a big bowl of pasta with crusty bread and a salad for a main course, you can select from the recipes for classic sauces we have collected here anytime you want to a change from basic Marinara Sauce (here).

 

Filetto di POMODORO

Makes about 8 cups

To make this type of tomato sauce, follow the Marinara Sauce recipe (here), but substitute 1 medium sliced onion for the sliced garlic. (Neapolitans never mix onion and garlic in a sauce, because their flavors cancel each other out.) Sauté the onion until caramelized. Some people make this sauce with larger chunks of tomatoes for a thicker consistency.

Paul on Using the Right Olive Oil

Though people seem to use extra-virgin olive oil for everything now, I consider it a finishing oil and never cook with it. Extra-virgin olive oil is the most flavorful, but it becomes bitter when you cook it. It is best drizzled on vegetables or salads, stirred into soups just before eating, or as a dipping sauce. Good-quality olive oil does the job for cooking. I sometimes use light olive oil for frying and sautéing, depending on the recipe.